Judge: Reporter can't be barred from NJ mob trial

CAMDEN, N.J.—A judge has ruled that a longtime crime reporter who landed on a witness list cannot be barred from attending a New Jersey mob trial.

A lawyer on Jan. 8 had George Anastasia barred from the Camden trial of reputed mobster Nicodemo Scarfo and others because he was on a list of potential witnesses.

Judge Robert Kugler ruled Thursday that Anastasia could be removed from the witness list and allowed back in the courtroom.

Anastasia is a former Philadelphia Inquirer reporter who had planned to cover the trial for the website Big Trial.

He tells The Inquirer ( http://bit.ly/1ddQlsH) that being allowed in the courtroom was a victory for journalists. He says that lawyers could otherwise have used witness lists to keep any journalist from covering trials.